Shockat Adam | |
---|---|
Member of Parliament for Leicester South | |
Assumed office 4 July 2024 | |
Preceded by | Jonathan Ashworth |
Majority | 979 (2.3%) |
Personal details | |
Born | Shockat Hussain Adam Patel 1972 Malawi [1] |
Political party | Independent |
Alma mater | Manchester University |
Website |
shockatadam |
Shockat Hussain Adam Patel [2] (born 1972 [3]) is a British businessman, optometrist, and independent politician who has served as the Member of Parliament for Leicester South since 2024. [4] [5]
Adam was born in Malawi, [1] into a Muslim family of Gujarati descent and grew up in Leicester, where he attended sixth-form college. He studied optometry at the University of Manchester. He is a director of Sask Optics which is owned by him, his wife and his brother Ismail Patel. [3]
Adam was the former Leicester chair of Muslim Engagement and Development, and spoke out against the 2022 Leicester unrest between Hindu and Muslim communities in the city. [6] [7] Prior to his candidacy, he had never been a member of a political party, although, in the 2019 general election, he had supported Labour Party candidate Claudia Webbe's campaign in Leicester East. [8]
Adam was elected in the 2024 United Kingdom general election as an independent, beating Labour candidate and Shadow Paymaster General Jonathan Ashworth in a result that was described as an upset. Backlash against Labour's position on the Israel–Hamas war was a factor in Adam's victory, with Adam saying "this is for Gaza" while holding a Palestinian keffiyeh aloft [3] when the results were announced. [9] [10] In an interview with The Observer, Adam said his victory was not sectarian, and that his campaign had also focused on the National Health Service and the housing crisis. [11]
He is the brother of Ismail Patel, the founder of the Friends of Al-Aqsa NGO based in Leicester. [12] [3]